Ethiopia Socioeconomic Survey 2015-2016: Data and documentation now available

The Central Statistical Agency (CSA) in collaboration with the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study[1] (LSMS) team launched the third wave (2015–16) of the Ethiopia Socioeconomic Survey (ESS) panel data, on February 22, 2017.

The ESS is a nationally representative survey administered every 2 years that covers a range of topics including demography, education, health, savings, labor, welfare, and agriculture, food security and shocks. The data is collected in two visits: post-planting and post-harvest seasons. The survey follows the same households over time and collects a rich set of information, to allow for comprehensive panel data analyses that can help shape policies for a wide array of development sectors.

Here are some interesting findings from the ESS 2015–16 survey:

Education: self-reported literacy (for reading and writing in any language) is 59% for males and 43% for females.

Access to mobile phone: approximately 54% of Ethiopian households have at least one member with a mobile phone. By place of residence, access is 43% in rural areas, 76% in small towns and 89% in medium and large towns.

Non-farm enterprises: approximately 25% of Ethiopian households own and operate a non-farm activity.

Agriculture: at the national level, farming households cultivate 11 fields on average with an average field size of 0.13 hectares.

Food security: food availability is seasonal. Major planting seasons-April to October-are major slack months. Rural households tend to be the most affected by seasonal food shortage.

Shocks: main shocks in the last 12 months include illness of household member (23% of households), followed by drought (21%), increase in the price of food items (21%) and increasing price for inputs (14%).

Financial inclusion: approximately 22% of adults (18 years and older) have accounts from formal financial institutions. At the household level, financial inclusion is higher (35%).

Data from all three waves has been made freely available to encourage policy makers, researchers and development partners to monitor living standards and formulate policies.